New Technics found

With me now waiting to have the funds to make the other two witch dresses I decided to try some of the other new things I wanted to have ago at. One was to make a big frill for bottom of skirts that were made from netted material like Tulle, sheer etc.

As you can see with these two pictures to make the frill you can do it with either strimmer wire or fishing line and a circular tube to wrap your wire around.

Tape one end of your wire to the tube then wrap it around keeping the tension when you get to the end tape that also.

 Then heat up the wire so it goes to the size of the tube (don't heat it so it melts you just want it to mold) then leave it to cool


With your material make your hem and pin it in place then press it with an iron this should then make a crease that you are going to put your wire.

On your sewing machine you want the big zigzag setting and set it so it sews quite close together.

Then place your wire in that crease you made and place in the middle of the foot of your sewing machine and begin to sew it in place


Below is the tutorial I used and it explains what basically I just mentioned.

Left wing done

Another thing I have been doing is make wings for our panto in December called Cinderella. The wings are for fairy godmother so they have to be fairly big. To make them I use thin wire and twist it to make it thicker and stronger and silver duck-tape to cover the sharp ends and stick it all together this is one wing done I just have one more to make for the other side and then cover them in netted material.

(you might be noticing a pattern with this blog this time)

Costume 99% done but still so much to d

Dress 99% done

Now When some of you look at this you'd think "What she on about it's finished" well I still need to do the hem at the bottom but one thing I need to do is alter the shoulders to shorten them.

What I have found quite funny with this pattern is how it looked complicated on the cover, it felt like it took forever to cut out but I can honestly say I have NEVER worked with such a simple pattern that went together straight away and didn't need taking back due to error (unlike some other's I've done/doing). So even though my dress is near enough complete that doesn't mean I'm finished. I still have 2 more to make one in red material and one in Blue that are going to be slightly different - one is going to have a collar and one is having extra long sleeves (as seen in my previous blog).

Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmations

Also whilst I am making these I am still doing my alteration side as well as looking into making a coat for a Cruella De Vil costume for someone, then I want to create a summer costume for myself for the Galas our theatre group should be doing and the character i would like to do is Alice from Alice in Wonderland.

Alice

And finally adding to the list is the cosplay for next year's MCM Expo in London as I want to do Princess Daisy from the Super Mario Bros; games made by Nintendo, which costs money but with it being a year away I should be able to do that one and keep an up to date blog on all these up coming costumes and I can't wait to start them all.

Princess Daisy

New Project starting for Black Cat Theatre

Sewing Pattern

With Our summer show starting in July I wanted to start making the costumes now (http://www.blackcattheater.co.uk/ is the website for Black Cat Theatre).

Now with the characters we are doing we needed at least some period costume - however with my size being on rather the large size and costumes like these you can be looking at £100+ I decided to make the costumes for us (and so far it's only cost £30). Just so the others would have more confidence in what I was doing I decided to start making mine first and see what the others think. 

The patterns I most like to use are the ones from Simplicity (simplicity/new look Patterns) or Butterick (Butterick & Mccall) as they are fairly easy to understand and the finished garments can look very professional as well as have adaptability, (which is what you need when you want to do a cosplay and that character's outfit doesn't exist).

I will keep this update with the progress this out fit is getting.

Sewing Pattern & Instructions

I have noticed though however that I have needed to make the pattern bigger so what I am doing (which is time consuming) is measuring each line and doubling it so then if it turns out to be too big I can always take it in.

About me :)

Well this is where I should tell you about myself.....

I am a graduate from University of Hull where I studied Media, Culture and Society. Some will probably wondering why I chose the picture I have, well the main reason why is because this is the Drama group I am very proud to be part of. In the group not only do I act, sing and dance on stage but I am also the costume designer and creator.

After seeing a speaker the other day who talked about blogging I began to think what could I do about because I wasn't sure what to talk about, then she said "Just something you are interested in" and what I am very interested in is....yup, sewing, costumes, Theatre and Cosplay. So that's what I want to do my blog on. I want to explore the different types of materials out there that can be used for cosplays or even everyday garments. Soon I will be making the costumes for our new play so I would very much like to put on here my progress in making the outfits, the patterns I'll be using, the type of fabric I'll use and what that fabric is like to use.

To make my outfits I do have an overlocker but I only have a normal domesticated sewing machine with a manikin that is one size XD

So I hope you enjoy my blogs and I get to inspire you to either try sewing/cosplay or even something simple like writing a blog on a subject you enjoy. :)